Tag: Laiatu Latu

The Indianapolis Colts were back on the practice field Friday and so was defensive end Laiatu Latu.

#Colts DE Laiatu Latu (hip) is practicing for the first time this week.

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) September 20, 2024

Latu exited the Colts’ Week 2 matchup with the Green Bay Packers in the second half with a hip injury. Earlier in the week, head coach Shane Steichen would call Latu day-to-day. He did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.

The Colts defensive line depth is already being put to the test with DeForest Buckner on injured reserve. We will find out Friday afternoon what Latu’s official game-day status is.

In need of a win, the Colts take on the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday. For a defensive front that has been abysmal against the run, they are facing a Bears’ offense that has struggled to get things going on the ground, averaging just 3.5 yards per rush through two games.

Turning the Colts run defense around is going to take a collective effort, as defensive coordinator Gus Bradley mentioned on Tuesday, however, if they are able to find some sort of success against Chicago, the Indianapolis pass rush should have the opportunity to wreak some havoc on this Bears’ offensive line.

The Bears enter Week 3 having allowed the ninth-highest pressure rate in football and the second-most sacks.

Before the Colts took the practice field on Wednesday in preparation of their Week 3 matchup with the Chicago Bears, head coach Shane Steichen mentioned that rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu would not practice today.

As had been reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Steichen would add that they are taking things day-to-day with Latu.

https://twitter.com/JakeArthurNFL/status/1836427879497728198

Latu exited the Colts’ Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers with a hip injury in the second half of action and did not return.

In his first two NFL games, Latu has been on the field for 59 defensive snaps. He currently sits as the third member of the Colts’ defensive end rotation, behind Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis. The Colts have been trying to get Latu on the field for obvious passing situations where he can really get after the quarterback.

Related: Safety Julian Blackmon returned to practice on Wednesday

On the stat sheet, Latu has just one pressure recorded up to this point–although he didn’t exactly have a ton of pass rush opportunities against the Packers–but he’s consistently been able to win his matchups. Out of 110 eligible defensive ends, Latu ranks 17th in PFF’s pass-rush win rate metric.

Eventually, that consistency if maintained will pay off with those pass rush wins turning into pressure and sack production.

Latu’s status for Sunday’s game against Chicago will certainly be worth monitoring as the week progresses. The Colts are already going to be without DeForest Buckner, who was placed on injured reserve.

Indianapolis Colts rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu is reportedly day-to-day as he works through a hip injury, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Meanwhile: #Colts first-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who suffered a hip injury on Sunday, is considered day-to-day. So, some positive injury news, there. https://t.co/ZmDlvu2jaP

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2024

Latu exited Sunday’s Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers with a hip injury in the second half and did not return.

Through two games, Latu hasn’t totaled a bunch of production, just one pressure, according to PFF–although it’s not as if there were many opportunities to get after the quarterback against the Packers–but he’s proven to be efficient when it comes to winning his matchups.

Out of 110 eligible defensive ends through two regular season games, Latu ranks 17th in PFF’s pass-rush win rate metric. If Latu can continue to win at that rate, the pressures and sacks will eventually come.

So far, Latu has been the third defensive end for the Colts in terms of playing time, behind Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis. Ideally, they have been trying to utilize him in pass rush specific situations where he can pin his ears back.

Perhaps there will be more opportunities coming if the Colts plan to have Lewis take some snaps inside with DeForest Buckner out.

As the first defender taken off the board in April’s draft, a quick impact from Latu, to a degree, was always going to be expected. But now as the defensive front depth continues to be tested with Buckner out at least four games, the Colts will need Latu to be that impact player, against both the run and the pass.

The Colts will be back on the practice field Wednesday as they begin preparing for the Chicago Bears. At that point, we will see whether or not Latu is practicing and, if he is, in what capacity.

Indianapolis Colts’ defensive end Laiatu Latu exited the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers with a hip injury. According to Jordan Schultz, Latu “should be fine.”

Schultz adds that Latu will undergo further tests to confirm that all is good, but from the sounds of it, Latu avoided anything major.

The Colts will be back on the practice field Wednesday, at which point we will get a better idea of where Latu is at after seeing whether or not he practices.

Through two games, Latu has been the third member of the Colts’ defensive end rotation. Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis have taken the bulk of the early down snaps with the Colts wanting Latu to see more pass-rush specific opportunities–although, those were hard to come by against the Packers.

Although production-wise, Latu has just one pressure in his first two games–but again, he had only eight pass rush snaps in Week 2–he is already showing that he can consistently win his matchups. By PFF’s pass-rush win rate metric, Latu ranks 18th among all defensive ends after two games.

In addition to the good news that the Colts have received about Latu, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who exited Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, has reportedly avoided a major injury as well. However, he still may be a “long-shot” when it comes to playing this upcoming week.

During the second half of the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu exited the game with what was called a hip injury.

The Colts would then rule him out.

DE Laiatu Latu (hip) is out for the remainder of #INDvsGB. pic.twitter.com/BarRG6hi5y

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 15, 2024

Latu was the Colts’ first round selection back in April and the first defender off the board. He has been a disruptive pass rusher since arriving in Indianapolis.

Through two games, we’ve seen Latu primarily utilized on passing downs, where he can tee-off and get after the quarterback. Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis have been the early down defensive ends for the Colts.

In his first game against Houston, Latu was one of the more efficient pass rushers that Week, with a pass rush win rate of 25 percent–which means he won one out of every four pass rush reps he had. This was the ninth-highest rate among defensive ends in Week 1.

In addition to losing Latu, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner also exited the game as well.

Check back in with Colts Wire for more updates as they come in.

Indianapolis Colts rookie and first-round pick Laiatu Latu was among the more efficient pass rushers in his NFL debut.

Latu was on the field Sunday for 20 pass rush snaps, and according to PFF, he won 20 percent of those reps. This ranked as the 17th-highest win rate in Week 1 out of 134 eligible pass rushers.

Latu finished behind players like Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett, Von Miller, and Micah Parsons, among others.

For some added context, because overall, the Week 1 number can be a bit lopsided given the limited sample size, a 20 percent pass rush win rate last season would have been the seventh-highest mark among all edge rushers.

By PFF’s metrics, those wins didn’t translate into an abundance of production for Latu, who had one pressure. However, Sports Info Solutions credited Latu with five pressures–the most on the team.

A high win rate shows consistency, and consistency will almost always lead to production.

Latu, the first defender off the board this past April, has looked the part since arriving in Indianapolis. Whether it be during one-on-ones, team drills in practice, or in live games, he’s been a steady disruptor along the Colts’ defensive front.

“It’s crazy, man,” said Kwity Paye about Latu during training camp. “The way how he just bends, like just seeing him, how he plays. Sometimes, the tackle will get him on his inside shoulder, and he just takes the shoulder away, drops, bends, and just keeps going. Like it’s amazing to see how he could manipulate the O-line and just play, man.”

Latu ended up playing 31 total snaps, which was third-most on the team at defensive end, behind Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis, who each played 52 snaps.

The Colts primarily utilized Latu in obvious passing situations, where he can pin his ears back and get after the quarterback. One would think that Latu’s opportunities will only increase as the season goes on, especially if he continues to win at such a high rate.

The staff members of Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback team recently predicted the winners of each major NFL award, and the most popular selection for Defensive Rookie of the Year was the Colts’ Laiatu Latu.

Of the nine individuals who made predictions, four of them selected Latu to win this award. The next closest player was Minnesota pass rusher Dallas Turner who received two votes.

Latu was the first defensive player taken off the board in this past April’s draft and has looked the part since arriving in Indianapolis.

Whether it be in one-on-ones, the team portion of practice or in preseason games, Latu was consistently disruptive. In the preseason, this included a pressure that eventually resulted in a Kenny Moore interception against Denver, and then a sack on his first pass rush attempt against Cincinnati.

“It’s crazy, man,” said Kwity Paye about Latu. “The way how he just bends, like just seeing him, how he plays. Sometimes, the tackle will get him on his inside shoulder, and he just takes the shoulder away, drops, bends, and just keeps going. Like it’s amazing to see how he could manipulate the O-line and just play, man.”

In the Colts deep defensive front rotation, at least based on what we saw during the preseason, Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis were handling the early, more run-heavy downs, with Latu then taking Lewis’ place during more obvious passing situations.

Ample snaps in those situations will give Latu the opportunity to pin his ears back. The depth of the defensive line should also give him one-on-one opportunities to capitalize on with offensive lines also having to worry about Paye, DeForest Buckner, and others.

In 2023, Houston Texans’ defensive end Will Anderson won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. For some context, he finished the season with 59 pressures and seven sacks, according to PFF.

On the first play of the game for Colts’ rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu, he recorded his first sack of the preseason.

Using that patented speed and bend, Latu worked his way around Bengals offensive tackle Cody Ford and came up with the third down sack.

LATUUUUUUU. ❌

📺 Prime Video / FOX59 pic.twitter.com/nlksuYuEMP

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 23, 2024

Fellow defensive end Kwity Paye was recently asked about what makes Latu so effective–describing him as water-like.

“It’s crazy, man,” said Paye last week. “The way how he just bends, like just seeing him, how he plays. Sometimes, the tackle will get him on his inside shoulder, and he just takes the shoulder away, drops, bends, and just keeps going. Like it’s amazing to see how he could manipulate the O-line and just play, man.”

This was the first play of the game for Latu and just the third play of the game overall. As we saw briefly in the preseason opener against Denver, Kwity Paye, and Tyquan Lewis handled the early–more run-likely–downs with Latu then coming in during the obvious passing situation, where he can just get after the quarterback.

This level of disruption has been fairly normal for Latu throughout training camp. Whether against the Colts’ own offensive linemen or against other opponents, as the first defender taken in this past April’s draft, Latu has looked the part.

GM Chris Ballard said after the draft that Latu is coming to the NFL a fairly “polished” pass rusher and should make an impact sooner than later–which we are routinely seeing.